It’s over! The fat lady has done her part and has waddled off the stage, and our legislators are packing up and heading home from Olympia. At this point there is no talk of the need for a special session, unlike the three special sessions we had last year. .

The 2017-2018 biennium set a record for the number of gun related bills filed: 48, 25 anti-, 20 pro- and three neutral. But as foretold in the Book of Matthew, “Many are called but few are chosen.” Only four of the 48 managed to make it to the governor’s desk: None of the pro-gun bills made the cut in the Democrat-dominated legislature, surprise, surprise. HB 2519 and SBs 5553, 5992 and 6248 were the chosen few. SB 6620, the last minute “assault weapon” bill, failed to get a vote on the last day of the session (given the time allowed, it was unlikely to pass the House anyway).

On Tuesday, 7 March, Governor Inslee signed SB 5992, the “bump stock” ban. In its final version, it only applied specifically to bump stocks and not to other “trigger devices,” and allows for a one-year buy-back period to be set up by the Washington State Patrol. Your reward for complying with the law is $150. (As far as I can tell, nothing prevents you from shipping or selling them out of state, as long as the transaction occurs out-of-state).

HB 2519 and SBs 5553 and 6298 sit on the governor’s desk awaiting his action. He has three options: sign the bill(s) as is, section veto portions he doesn’t like allowing the remainder to become law, or let it sit without his signature, at which point it will become law. Unlike the president, Washington has no provision for a “pocket veto” (no signature) to kill a bill. I expect the governor to sign all three bills, as he did SB 5992.

As I reported earlier, HB 2519 was amended in the House to allow issue of CPLs to current and former military members aged 18-20. That amendment was pulled by the Senate Law & Justice committee. The conference committee also amended the final version of the bill added language that allows the issuing authority to require a photograph be submitted with the application, and that photograph to be embossed on the license. This was discussed by the Department of Licensing more than ten years ago but never implemented. It is solely up to the issuing authority to require it. Some states have photo CPLs, other do not.

It appears in my rush to head for Las Vegas in January for the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trades show, I missed an anti-gun bill filed. HB 2805 (Rep. Pollet, D-46) would ban the sale of exposed lead projectile ammunition to those 18-20 years old. Concerns about lead poisoning among the young, according to the bill language. Maybe Chicago should consider such a bill.

Given the fact that for the first time in several years Democrats control both the House and Senate as well as the governor’s mansion, why so few anti-gun bills passed? One or two pro-gun Democrats in each chamber helped us, and 2018 is mid-term election year. Had they passed a slew of anti-gun bills, they likely would have lost perhaps several rural-area legislative seats in November. Expect them to come back in January, 2019 with blood in their eyes for gun owners.

By failing to address the “assault weapon” issue, it opens the door for an initiative later this year that is likely to go well beyond simple registration and/or age limits. And as we’ve been hearing from Florida over the past week, where the Republican-majority legislature just raised the age to buy long guns to 21 AND imposed a three-day waiting period because of the Parkland school shooting, there are far too many gun owners out there who don’t like “black rifles.” Or as we call them, Elmer Fudds, “As long as they don’t come after my wabbit gun, I don’t care what they do about other guns.”

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature’s web site at “www.leg.wa.gov“. Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe’s web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000. You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need “RealAudio” to do this, available free at the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate “bill reports” (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the “roll call” for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “goalwa@cox.net “. Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “joewaldron@cox.net” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

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Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 24-25 March

Puyallup 28-29 April

“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.”